The present invention relates generally to card games and methods thereof, and more particularly, to a method of playing multiple hands of draw poker that would provide players with an interactive ability to move hands or cards separately to create the best possible combination of cards to form a winning hand.
What makes video poker different from playing poker against other players in a live game is the use of paylines to determine a winning outcome. The amount the player wagers also affects the amount a player may win given a winning combination of cards. Generally, a player has the opportunity to win a larger award as the wager increases.
Casino operators are always looking for new and innovative ways to increase the level of enjoyment and interaction of casino-style games with casino patrons. Conventional gaming machines or devices have traditionally used spinning reels or standard video poker games as methods to provide casino patrons a method of wagering.
Standard five card draw video poker has been available in legal gaming jurisdictions for many years. The number of games along with variations in paytables and the addition of wild cards have also been introduced over the years. More recently, poker games utilizing multiple lines of cards and unique play attributes have grown more popular as players demand a greater level of interaction than that offered in standard five card draw poker. Some variations also include the ability to duplicate held cards from an initial draw of five cards to other lines or hands. Although this has created the opportunity for increased wagers and opportunity for increased winning outcomes, these variations typically rely on the duplication of initial draws of cards to create additional poker hands.
Electronic gaming machines (“EGMs”) are extremely popular with casino patrons for playing slot games and video poker games. Over the years, video poker games have provided players with a high level of entertainment. In some forms, video poker implements the use of multi-hands, thereby connecting play of hands through different techniques. Multi-hand play challenges a player to employ optimum play strategy to maximize the number of wins and the value of the wins over multiple hands.
One common feature of video poker games, including multi-hand games, is that each separate poker hand is played from a standard individual deck with 52 cards. This means that it is difficult for the player to predict with a high probability what cards of those remaining in the deck will be dealt in the initial hand or on the draw. In a typical video poker game, a player is initially dealt five cards. The player can replace any number of the five dealt cards up to and including all five cards. That means that the probability of predicting the draw cards is no better than five out of 47 and that assumes that all five cards dealt on the initial deal are discarded. The probability changes to four in 47, three in 47, two in 47 or one in 47 depending on the number of cards held before the draw. Experienced poker players understand the probabilities and the pay tables associated with their favorite games and seek to employ optimal strategies for obtaining a low frequency, high pay for a hand like a royal flush or four-of-a-kind, or alternatively, a high frequency, low pay for a hand like two face cards.
Accordingly, there is a need for video poker systems and games that provide players with higher predictability of final hands and greater excitement throughout the playing experience. There is also a need to encourage players to play more often or for longer periods while giving the player the opportunity for paybacks that happen with greater frequency or in higher amounts. Further, there is a need for systems and methods that give players the chance to employ a variety of play strategies to make the experience more fun and exciting. These and other features of the system and method disclosed herein will become more readily apparent from the following description.